More than half of young Europeans are managing to turn their studies into relevant work, according to the latest labour market data from the European Union.
In 2024, 56.4% of people aged 15–34 with a medium or high level of education said their job closely matched what they studied. The findings are based on self-assessments, with respondents rating the link between their education and their current or most recent main job as very high, high, moderate, low, or nonexistent.
The alignment was strongest among university graduates. **About 68.1% of young people with a high level of education** reported a very high or high match between their degree and job requirements. Among those with a medium level of education, the share fell to 46.1%, highlighting a clear divide based on qualification level.
Health, tech and education lead the way
Some fields stand out for offering smoother transitions from classroom to career. Health and welfare topped the list, with 80.6% of highly educated young people working in roles closely linked to their studies. Strong matches were also reported in information and communication technologies (77.0%) and education (73.6%), sectors where specialised skills are often directly tied to professional roles.
Arts and social sciences face tougher outcomes
The picture is less positive in other disciplines. Young graduates in arts and humanities struggled the most, with 52.2% reporting difficulty finding work that matched their education. Challenges were even more pronounced in social sciences, journalism and information (59.1%)** and in services (59.3%), where many young professionals end up working outside their field.
Big gaps across EU countries
Opportunities also vary widely across the bloc. Latvia (76.5%), Lithuania (76.1%) and Germany (75.2%) recorded the highest shares of young people reporting a strong match between education and work.
At the other end of the scale, young people faced greater difficulties in Italy (41.6%), Slovakia (46.2%) and Denmark (47.1%), where fewer than half found jobs closely aligned with their studies.
What it means for young workers
The data underlines a familiar trend: degrees in regulated or technical fields tend to deliver clearer career paths, while broader disciplines offer flexibility but less certainty. For policymakers, the figures highlight the need to strengthen links between education systems and labour markets—especially in countries and fields where young people are struggling most to put their qualifications to use. Photo by Phil Whitehouse, Wikimedia commons.